HOMEBUYERS pressurised into using estate agents’ mortgage services face being “ripped off”, warn experts as cases of conditional selling rise.
Rowan Frayling, managing director of J Finance, said: “This year, almost all my team of nine brokers have experienced this issue. Truth: Agents are not allowed to discriminate against a buyer by misrepresenting their offer to the seller or passing it on less quickly than others.Truth: The agent is entitled to confirm to the seller you can afford to make an offer but your own broker can provide a certificate as proof.Buyers who bow to the pressure of using the agent’s broker face the possibility of paying over the odds for their mortgage and insurances.
Brokers are obliged under financial regulations to provide a list of the lenders they work with if it is a restricted number. Always ask for this upfront. Estate agents who engage in conditional selling are breaking the rules of the Estate Agents Act 1979.